WorldSpreads sees loss of €600,000

GAMBLING

FINANCIAL spread-betting group WorldSpreads has reported a pre-tax loss of just over €600,000 from its continuing businesses for the six months to the end of September, compared with a €440,000 loss a year earlier. Revenues rose 11pc from a year earlier to €8.3m, with revenues from the European division jumping 22pc to just over €3m.

FINANCIAL spread-betting group WorldSpreads has reported a pre-tax loss of just over €600,000 from its continuing businesses for the six months to the end of September, compared with a €440,000 loss a year earlier. Revenues rose 11pc from a year earlier to €8.3m, with revenues from the European division jumping 22pc to just over €3m.

S&P overhaul hits Rabobank's rating

BANKING

DUTCH co-operative bank Rabobank lost its cherished triple-A rating from Standard & Poor's yesterday as the global banking crisis finally caught up with the only bank still holding the top rating. The bank has a successful operation here. But S&P cut its long-term rating on the bank to AA from AAA as part of a ratings overhaul.

Unemployment in eurozone hits record

jobs

Official figures show that the unemployment in the eurozone rose to an all-time record of 10.3pc in October. The Eurostat data agency estimated that nearly 16.3 million were out of work last month after the ranks of the unemployed rose by 126,000 compared with September. The seasonally adjusted rate was above the 10.2pc forecast by analysts. The highest unemployment rate was still in Spain where it rose to 22.8pc in October.

Monthly boost for jobs in America

US JOBS

Businesses boosted hiring in the US in November by the largest gain in nearly a year, payrolls firm ADP said yesterday. The private sector added a net 206,000 jobs in November. "The increase was the largest monthly gain since last December and nearly twice the average monthly gain since May," the payroll processing firm said. ADP revised sharply higher its October reading to 130,000 from an initial estimate of 110,000.

Lending restrictions eased in China

BANKING

China has announced plans to ease restrictions on bank lending to help shore up slowing economic growth. The People's Bank of China said that it would reduce banks' reserve ratio by 0.5 percentage points, effectively increasing the amount of money they could lend. Chinese leaders worry that a fall in global export demand could cause the economy to slow too abruptly.